Studio Ghibli, the true Japanese wonder

As for the rest, I will write several parts about this each day, so that you don't have to read all at once. I will also separate them in pages here so that you can easily find them.

For today I decided that we talk about something else and take a little break from standard stuff that we are common with.
Today we are going to talk about Studio Ghibli, the most known Japanese studio for production of anime movies and such.

So before we begin let us discuss what is that actually? Well it is best to say that Studio Ghibli is something as Disney in the west. While they are quite popular and make animated movies, in Japan they do as well and more and more they are becoming quite popular all over the world, from all parts of Asia, to Europe and America.

Official logo used by Studio Ghibli. The mascot is from one of their most famous movies and first called My Neighbor Totoro.

Studio Ghibli was found by two, often considered one of the best and most legendary directors of anime industry, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata back in 1985. Hayao Miyazaki is however the more famous one because of his personal movies and also because he is a mangaka himself. Isao Takahata is only a director and producer, but he himself wrote stories for and worked on many famous and heartbreaking ones like one of the most famous, 'Grave of the Fireflies'.

One the left Hayao Miyazaki (70) and on the right Isao Takahata (75)

Right after they founded their studio, they made an anime movie never seen before then called Laputa Castle in the sky. It had the best music, animations and story the Japan has yet seen it. At that time anime was not popular in the West so it took years until it saw Western release, but even today it still is considered one of the most legendary of their work.
Before that they actually made a movie which helped them make Studio Ghibli. You see, they were working on many anime titles (and Isao was working on some real action movies before completely deciding to do anime), though they didn't make much and especially for making a whole studio. Even at that time anime just hit the scene even in Japan, so it took time until it was completely recognized by everyone.

Covers of one of the most famous ones.

One of their most famous pre-Ghibli (era called for the anime movies and OVAs they made before Studio Ghibli) is Nausicaa Valley of the wind in year 1984. That movie became so popular that they brought them enough profit to officially establish Studio Ghibli.

Today they are by far most famous movie maker studio in all categories in Japan and more and more their movies are played in Western cinema where the latest ones have premier in even more than 250 cinemas just in USA and also dozens to hundreds in some European countries.

They even have established a Ghibli museum in Japan, something similar as Disney Land in the West.

They are so famous that their most famous movie 'Spirited Away' has earned Golden Bear and even Oscar for the best animated movie, first one ever being not English language based. It is also first anime to ever receive that and today it is the most grossing anime at all in Japan, even bigger than Titanic.